This is kinda messed up. Video footage from the Coachella festival depicts what appears to be police screwing up. It is making the rounds so you may have already seen it. In case you don't want to click through for the NSFW video, I'll summarize.
Guy nudes up, police object, nekkid guy starts babbling about feeling beautiful (hello!), police try to talk him into putting his clothes back on. obviously high on something other than life and the music, nekkid guy....doesn't. Not resisting, just refusing. After a very long time in close contact with nekkid guy, when they clearly could have just cuffed him already, something triggers the police to beat him up a little. Nice little knee drop to the abdomen and (gee, whaddaya know) nekkid dude starts trying to get away. Yeah, don't think we didn't notice the supposed pain-holds in the finger and wrist department. Eventually it devolves into throwing on the ground and repeatedly tasering the guy.
>sigh<
I dunno, it is really so hard to think that just maybe a guy high on drugs isn't going to actually comply with what you want him to do? And maybe you should just de-escalate the thing right from the start by cuffing him? Is it sooooo freaking important that you get his clothes back on him that you try to argue him into it? How may times does that usually work anyway? Srsly.
Alright, video after the jump. NSFW. Might shock kids and those of a sensitive constitution. Don't say I didn't warn you...

Are you sure they were arresting him for nudity rather than drug use? If I had a penis the size (!) of that guys I can't imagine the amount of drugs needed for me to think its a good idea to get it on youtube!
Either way it seemed a rather unnecessarily brutal approach by the police to maintaining public order.

Now I am not an advocate of police brutality, and I am a drug researcher so the dude was super high...easy to see.
Hmmm, I think that the whole thing with the cops really started with them simply trying to get him to put his clothes on, not arresting. Once they had him bent down a bit and he refused is when they started in on him.
I also think that the one cop he kept patting really heavy on the arm was a good sport. You dont make such aggressive moves on a cop and expect to come away unbloodied.
Overall, except for the tasing and hair pulling, which was not necessary, I think they handled it marginally well. It seems they fully understood he was high as did the other dude who handed him some water.
I think as they balanced not escalating with the personal safety of this guy and the crowd, I dont think it was too bad.
What has happened to me?!!?! Siding with cops, ugh!
Doc F

No idea how you can side with cops on that, you don't beat up and electrocute someone just cause they're naked and high. He didn't pose a threat to anyone and I somehow doubt he was causing offence either seeing as he was at Coachella, not wandering down a busy street.
We just had a raft of police brutality videos surfacing in the UK in the wake of the G20 summit and it's starting to seriously sicken me. Police uniforms seem to turn some people into morons.

The problem with the vast majority of cops is that the vast majority of people who have any interest in becoming cops are power-hungry authoritarian assholes who get off on exerting authority, and who become enraged if anyone dares not "respect" their authority.
Cops brutalizing and tasering unarmed people has *nothing* to do with "maintaining public safety" and *everything* to do with their sick-fuck authoritarian impulses.

I disagree that the brutality exhibited by cops in these situations (and, I won't watch the video since I have a seriously sensitive constitution) is a result of their personalities, rather than their circumstances. Personality & self selection may play a role for some specific individuals, but I think that DM & FG are nailing the way that this escalates into brutality and that the right thing to do is to figure out how to not have that happen, rather than attributing the situation to the inherent "badness" of the individual (CCP would blame the cops and their badness, and a conservative foil to CCP would blame the druggie).
DM thinks that the cops should have escalated to non-verbal communication (i.e. handcuffing) because the drug-influenced individual was not able to comply to verbal requests. The cops might have been acting on an instruction that physical interaction would be an escalation. It's kind of like dealing with children with autism -- no point in loudly instructing them, and a tight hug might be better. But, an untrained person won't know that, and even if they did, might not feel that they are permitted to "tight hug" someone else's child. I think DM has the right idea when he thinks that the cops should be trained to deal with this situation differently than they would with a naked, non-high person. The same thing is true about autism, and there's definitely plans around to give cops the appropriate training so that they don't react with similar brutality to individuals with autism (easier to convince them of this, 'cause we blame druggies more than we blame individuals with autism).

"Not resisting, just refusing"
I meant this in the sense of a person fighting back, potentially harming the police officers. In that case, you can easily see where additional force is justified, police aren't obligated to let some guy hit them. At the end of the clip, it looks to me as if they were acting as if the nekkid guy was actually fighting back. In my viewing, the guy wasn't even so much as trying to get away until the cop knee-dropped on his stomach. Even in the middle of the episide where a cop is holding each arm.
One of the things that always bothers me about police response to the drug-addled is the whole "strength of ten men" bullshit. Sure, they may be insensitive to pain in a way that other perps are not... sometimes. The idea that every person who is high has King Kong strength has very little justification. And I think the mythology leads to the police going all wackaloon with the force in cases where it isn't at all necessary.

Those fucking cops are lucky a riot didn't break out precisely BECAUSE of what they were doing!
The guy wasn't putting up a fight, being unruly, or any of that shit. He took a knee to the gut before he started to try getting away.
This shit makes me sick. It also reminds me of WHY men who work as police officers and in other "macho" jobs are more likely to perpetrate domestic violence in their homes. And yes, I can back that up with evidence.

He wasn't resisting physically; he was refusing to comply. The police escalated this. They turned to violence first, and they physically harmed a harmless man. The mob was against them.
The guy should have been cuffed and taken away. Charge him with public nudity if it's a crime. The police should be obligated to use violence only when its necessary.
Disturbing video.

Nicely done, DM. And word, CPP. Whoever thought it was a good idea to give cops tasers should be tasered the shit out of, IMO. It's really sad that nobody in the crowd did anything because they are all scared shitless, not just of the taser itself but of the sadistic, uncontrollable impulses of authoritarian assholes with badges.

Beyond the abuse by the cops, which to me is inexcusable, where the fuck were this dudes friends?!?!
I happen to be one of those people that liked to be, shall we say, less than clothed when I was tripping or just rip-roaring fucked up. On more than one occasion I've managed to end up naked at festivals. Most times it was fine, because the festivals were of that nature, but there was a time when it was just not so appropriate and before security could intervene, my friends managed to get me clothed again (actually there were a couple of others, where I was stopped in the process of disrobing).
Seriously, if that was my friend, I would have either gotten him clothed or gotten him the hell out of there. I daresay that if a friend was dealing with him and explained to the cops that he was leaving, it probably would have been fine.
My guess is that his friends were pansy ass motherfuckers who were afraid to deal with the fucking cops - so they abandoned him.

"I also think that the one cop he kept patting really heavy on the arm was a good sport. You dont make such aggressive moves on a cop and expect to come away unbloodied."
When someone assaults a person for patting them on the shoulder, which is not too uncommon in areas where people are not quite sober, usually they end up in jail. I don't see why it should be any different when the asshole is wearing a badge.

Doc F -
Now that you mention it, fuck off you pig loving fascist!!!
(Actually, while I think the cops went too far with the hair pulling, high or not, he was really pushing it and them - I speak as one who spent much of his adult life that high and who has been pretty good and fucked by cops)

The violence was sooo tootally justified ... they were afraid he had a concealed weapon. LOL.
According to the standard police training and inculcation anything short of immediate and enthusiastic compliance with each and every requests made is seen as 'resisting'.
The presence of crowds and other police can also cause unwarranted escalation because failure to comply signifies disrespect. Disrespecting someone in front on an audience, particularly in front of peers within a boys club based on chest thumping macho values like the police, demands a beat down to restore status. Popularly termed 'putting them in their place' and 'teaching them to respect lawful authority'. It is not supposed to be personal but it is.

George W. - Actually, mere nudity in public isn't a crime in California. "Willfuly and lewdly" exposing oneself is. This guy was clearly willfully nude - he took his clothes off, rather than having them stolen when he was showering or something. But it was not lewd - he wasn't making any suggestive gestures or coming on to anyone, he just took off his clothes.
Indeed, if you follow the news reports, he was not charged with anything related to nudity, but with public drunkenness.

Dude,
I watched that video....Whether or not nudity is illegal in California...his nudity was a CRIME!!!! It hurt my eyes. Make it stop!
I am happy he had a nice time though.
I also agree with Art. It escalated because of the perceived lack of respect for the cops. They always have to show they are boss. You knew it was coming when donned the latex!
Doc F
PS: Boo Doc F!!! Cop luvah!!!

"Actually, mere nudity in public isn't a crime in California. " Wooo! Movin to California
Sorry. I can't stand to take things seriously when they hit this nerve (this video isn't as bad as the legendary "don't tase me bro" but it's distinctly unpleasant). All I know is I never want to be in this situation (even as one of the crowd- you either feel like you're escalating by watching, since it might encourage police machismo, or you're ignoring some innocent guy get beat up. Sqeamy either way).

The guy looked slow on the uptake, possibly stoned, probably drunk, but what telltale sign has people here thinking he must have been drug-addled? I mean, if there's a drug that makes your weaner shrink to a second bellybutton, then I agree, he must have been tripping balls.

what telltale sign has people here thinking he must have been drug-addled?
Well I left my copy of Brayton (Encyclopedic Guide to Civile Libertyes; I think it's covered in volume III) at home but lemme thumb through my dog eared copy of Drugmonkey's "Field Guide to Public Intoxication". Ahh yes, Chapt 5: The Music Festival...hmm, hmmm
Right. Couple of pages after "Getting Bizzy" and just under the entry for "Flashing" we have a section headed "Full Body Nudity"...

...while the individuals on stimulants may simply feel to "hot" and be genuinely seeking cooling, if the person is heard to refer to things being or feeling "beautiful" or "one with the world" or other similar phrases this is a clue to hallucinogen and/or empathogen use. Unlike the alcohol or stimulant intoxicated (particularly male) the individual typically responds to clothing requests with passivity and evasion rather than resistance...

gillt -
Having rather a lot of experience being on a whole fuckton of drugs and having been around such people, it is pretty obvious to me. He is naked for one - notably the only naked person present. He is refusing to put his clothes back on, despite the cops initially being very reasonable with him (not to excuse their later actions) and polite about it. And as cashmoney notes, he is (as far as I can make out) using phrases that are indicative of hallucinogens.
Yes, it's possible that he wasn't that fucked up on drugs and is simply completely mental - or a fucking moron, but given the context in which this is happening, it is quite reasonable to assume that it was drugs.

Yes yes, we all did copious amounts of drugs in our youth.
But hasn't anyone gotten drunk enough to at least consider getting nekid in public? Visit any state college campus and you'll see how common this behavior is.
The problem is the cops are likely making the same assumptions as the commenters here, which goes a long way toward justifying their use of force on what they perceive already as illegal behavior: drug use! shudder, gasp.

Gill, WTF. Drunk guys who take off their clothes rarely act like this. There are likelier reasons. But anyway, more likely to need to get aggro with drunk dudes than with the xtc rollers. U r not making sense

Oh yeah, CPP, I agree, he was on X. Just watch the gyrating hand movements with the feather boa as he enjoyed the visual. He was having a super good time. Coulda been LSD, but, based on his need to be touchy with the cop, I would go with X.
Yeah, and the inverted sausage = not pretty.
Doc F

As DM pointed out, the police are taught the reefer madness "strength of ten men" bullshit and not the "find his friends and get him the fuck out of here" strategy that everyone else who's been to a party or two knows, but that's not the only problem here. How much of this could have been expected before the festival even started? All of it. Lots of well-known sociological phenomenon occurring here. People standing around not helping even though they're witnessing something they all know is wrong, rank and file public employees defending themselves by saying they were just following orders/training, and yes, people taking their clothes off at outdoor music festivals.
Plenty of blame to go around here, but if the festivals are to continue, and I think they should (and will, above or below ground) then the organizers need to plan for this. They need chill out rooms, they need to host events as far away from populated places as possible to cut down on the security requirements, and they need to work with the security people so they know how to handle these situations. They shouldn't allow guns, tasers, or pepper spray in the gates. They should do some old fashioned PR to shame the 20+ people standing around recording it on their phones (a few would have been enough) and not doing anything to help him before the police were called. I've been at enough of these events to know that it takes a little while for the police to show up. Back in the day, someone would have talked him down or hidden him over in the corner or something so that the police never would have gotten involved.
Yes, you could make the argument that the police were acting sadistic and cruel, but what's the point? Would you blame a mean dog for biting you or would you blame the owner for letting him off the leash in the first place?